Unexpected Allies
by Chelley Murdock
Summary: Not everyone suffers from the Blackout. Some people do very well for themselves, and there are more things under Heaven and on Earth than even Monroe could imagine. Some strong language, but not too much.
1. Chapter 1

"This way!"

Miles frowned. "Hold up, Rachel."

"We don't have time. In case you missed it, Monroe has a helicopter!"

"I saw that, but we're under enough cover we can take time to plan our next move."

Rachel scowled at him. "I already have, and it involves moving."

Miles drew in a slow breath. "Rachel, I know you've got plenty of reasons not to trust me. If I were you, I'd have shot me on sight."

"I still might."

"Mom!" Charlie got between the two of them. "We don't have time for this. No matter what Uncle Miles has done in the past, he is on our side. He came with me to get Danny back, and he didn't have to. I trust him."

Miles watched Rachel's eyes as she looked from him to Charlie. He could tell she wanted to unload, to tell her daughter just how much of a monster he was, but the desire to keep them as a cohesive unit won out.

"Charlie, I need you to trust me on this one. I know where we can get help."

Miles frowned again. Rachel had been Monroe's prisoner for close to a decade. "Rachel, chances are that anyone you knew before is either dead or moved on."

"Even those outside of Hagerstown?"

Miles became very still. "You know who's out there?"

Nora looked from one to another, her features confused. "What's in Hagerstown?"

"Not in Hagerstown, but about five miles west of it. There's an area out there not even Monroe goes into. Every time we tried to go in there, our men didn't make it out."

Rachel gave a small smirk. "They don't like outsiders. A rather insular group, even before the Blackout."

"You trust them?"

"I trust them to at least hear me out before they rip out our throats. If I can talk to them, they should at least be willing to give us food and shelter for a while." She nodded towards Danny. "And they have a doctor with them; one of the best I've ever met. I'd like him to check Danny out."

"What, not Charlie?"

Rachel's gaze turned cold. "What do you mean by that, Miles? Is that your way of saying that I care more about my son than my daughter?"

"You do seem a bit more concerned about Danny than Charlie."

"Charlie didn't have to have surgery before she was even born. She doesn't have asthma. And in case you've failed to notice, she doesn't really need someone looking out for her. My daughter can handle herself just fine."

"Hey!" Charlie held a hand out towards each of them. "This is not the time. We need to keep it together." She leveled a glare that had far too much weight behind it for someone so young at each of them in turn. "Now, Mom thinks she knows a safe place for us to go. We go there. Especially if it gets us away from Philadelphia."

Miles couldn't argue with that part of the plan. The more miles between them and Philly, the better. "All right. Let's get to Hagerstown and hope your friends are a bit more welcoming than they have been in the past."

"Keep your mouth shut and we might stand a chance."

"Mother." Charlie's voice was tinged with exasperation. Enough of it that Rachel dropped the budding argument then and there, opting to turn around and head out.

Without power, without cars and trains and other modes of reliable transportation, it took days to make the journey. Without power you could appreciate how close to be being time machines cars truly had been. That came to a shock to most everyone, since people had forgotten that North America was actually a large piece of land. The world was big again, thanks to whatever bit of nightmare Rachel and Ben had cooked up.

They avoided known towns and strongholds, keeping off the roads as much as possible. Charlie kept them fed for the most part. She was an incredible shot with that crossbow of hers and apparently had actually listened to Maggie when the woman had tried to teach her what plants were safe to eat or use. Miles watched Rachel's face as she observed her daughter's efficient, sure moves when she cleaned a kill or cobbled together a nutritious, if sometimes bland, soup from tubers and plants she had scavenged. There was an expression of pain and humility there, as if Rachel was blaming herself for the necessity that had forged this brave young woman from the child she had left behind.

"Get over it."

Rachel jumped. She hadn't heard him come up behind her to relieve her on watch. "What?"

"I said 'get over it'." Miles hunkered down to sit beside her. "It's done. You can't undo it. Whatever you and Ben did, it happened and mankind has to move on."

A scowl crossed Rachel's face briefly, banished before it could take root. "I know."

"But it doesn't stop you from blaming yourself about how Charlie turned out."

"No, it doesn't." She looked away from him, looking out into the woods. "It's all my fault, and I know that."

"She's strong. Like you."

"No. She's stronger than me. She's braver. She… she wouldn't have done it."

"Done what?"

Rachel took in a breath and let it out. "She wouldn't have sold out the world for her unborn child." She swallowed. "That's what I did, you know. Danny was going to die. I knew it before he was born. There was an experimental surgery that could give him a chance, but I couldn't get into the trial and we didn't have the money to pay for it otherwise. The Defense Department knew it and they offered me their bargain. My invention for a chance to save my child."

Miles nodded, looking out to the same empty patch of woods. "I figured it was something like that. I know you well enough to know there's very few things that would have made you sacrifice your morals." He offered her a pull from a flask he had bartered a refill for from a group of travelers they had passed. "What makes you think Charlie wouldn't have done the same thing?"

"Because Monroe had us all in the same room and made it clear that if I didn't give him the amplifier he would kill one of my kids. Charlie told me not to do it. Put herself between the gun and her brother and told them to shoot her." Rachel shook her head. "I looked into her face, Miles. If it meant keeping the power out of Monroe's hands, she would have let all three of us die. I couldn't have done that. I've never been that strong. I've never… never been that noble." She looked down at her hands. "She's a better person than me. She's more like her father that way."

"Yeah." Miles took another pull from his flask and swallowed the fire burning down his throat. "Yeah, that she is. She's young, though. A lot of people won't take her seriously at first. They'll have to see her in action before they'll understand."

Rachael's head snapped up and around. She stared at him, her face hardening. "No. No, you don't get to do that, Miles."

"Do what?"

"You are not going to build another army around my child. You are not going to make her into some… hero."

"I won't have to, Rachel. People will form around her on their own accord. I just have to keep her alive and be the one to do the bad things so she doesn't get tarnished."

"Charlie isn't going to be made into some kind of savior, Miles. I won't allow it." She kept her voice firm and pitched low so that the others wouldn't wake.

Miles leaned towards her, his voice just as hard and just as low. "What makes you think Charlie will follow your lead, Rachel? She was just a kid when you left. That young woman over there is her own person. You think I didn't try to keep her out of things? You think I didn't try to steer her away from danger? I did, and I learned real quick that it doesn't work. Charlie does what her heart and her gut tells her should be done, and all you can do is support her or get the fuck out of her way." He shook his head. "Neither of us will be able to stop her. All we can do is be there by her side and watch her back."

Rachel opened her mouth to argue, but she faltered. He was right, and she knew it. She swallowed and looked away, and froze.

Miles noticed the stiffening of her posture and slowly moved his gaze to follow her line of sight. Staring at them from the darkness were eyes. Four pairs of yellow eyes. He moved towards his side arm but Rachel's hand shot out to stop him.

"No, make no threatening moves." Rachel drew in a breath and stood up slowly, her hands going up and out to the sides to show they were empty. Low, rumbling growls drifted from the trees towards them. "We need to speak with Hal. We request asylum with The Pack."

The growls tapered off slightly. A moment later four large wolves came out of the trees. Miles forced himself not to reach for his gun. "Fuck me."

"Keep calm, Miles. They're the real deal. Very dangerous."

"Not my first wolves, Rachel. Did a tour in Alaska." The timber wolves of Alaska weren't this big, though, and Alaskan wolves were massive brutes. In most parts of the US, including the region here in what used to be Maryland, the wolves had been hunted to extinction. Most people in the US thought wolves were just wild dogs, not realizing that the wolf was an apex predator for a reason. A wolf had the bite strength capable of crushing the femur of a healthy man. One wolf. And they were facing four.

"Good." She slowly sat back down. "This could take a while."

Miles blinked at her. "We're just going to sit here?"

"Yes."

"With four wolves staring back at us."

"That's right." She glanced over at him. "Try not to look so scared. They can smell fear."

Miles couldn't be certain, he might have been hearing things, but he could have sworn he heard the wolves laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

An eternity later there was the sound of someone coming through the underbrush of the woods. The noise came across as deliberate, as though the entity making the noise wanted them to know it was there. Another long moment later a solidly built man came into view, walking past the wolves without concern and even reaching out briefly to run his fingers through the dense fur on the head of one.

Rachel rose, a calm and friendly expression on her face. "Hal, thank you for coming to meet with us." She motioned for Miles to stand up. "This is…"

"Miles Matheson, your brother-in-law and one of the founders of the Monroe Militia, though sources say that he abandoned his position there and vanished until very recently." 'Hal' gave him an appraising, piercing look. "Tell me, Miles, why shouldn't I tear you apart right here and now?"

Okay, so it was like that. "Why should you?"

"Maybe because you're largely responsible for creating a force of highly trained bullies who keep people under the heel of Monroe's boot through terror, intimidation and extortion. From what we've heard, you taught them their most vicious tricks."

Miles drew in a breath and released it. Something told him that honesty was the way to go here. "Guilty. That was me. Every bit of it."

Hal stepped closer. Miles tried not to be creeped out by how the four wolves flanked him like well trained guard dogs. He tried to meet the man's gaze, and even held it for a long moment, before he had to look away. There was something too powerful in those eyes. Something feral and uncompromising. Something ancient.

"Why did you leave Monroe, Mr. Matheson?"

Miles swallowed. "Because…" His voice faltered and he forced himself to remain steady. "When the blackout happened, everything went to hell. I was trying to make it across country to my brother and his family and… I saw things. People preying on the weak and no one trying to stop them. That's what I wanted to do. To stop the ones preying on those who couldn't fight back."

"What happened?"

"It all went… wrong. We lost our way. My men… all of us… we became worse than the things we were supposed to protect the others from. I… I couldn't stomach it any longer. I couldn't be part of it, couldn't stomach what we had become. I left."

He could feel heat and potential menace radiating from the man. Instinct told him not to reach for his gun or sword. Instinct told him he'd be dead before he could draw down.

"Hal?" Rachel's voice of soft and laced with fear.

"That… is a good reason not to tear you apart just yet, Mr. Matheson." Hal stepped away from him but Miles was not foolish enough to relax. The wolves were still watching him.

"What brings you this way, Rachel?"

"We're running from Monroe."

"You're a long way from Philadelphia and we detected no one crossing the boundaries of our territory to follow you. You've lost him for now."

"For now," she agreed. "Hal, he's got power. And he's got helicopters. May even have other working vehicles."

"How?" A growl laced his words, almost exactly like the growls of his wolves.

"It's a long story, Hal. And I'll tell you everything, I swear. I only ask that we get inside before we do. I have my children with us, and I would appreciate it if Snorri would look at Danny. Monroe's men had him for a while and I want a doctor I can trust to check him out."

Hal was silent for a time, but not for long. "You will tell us everything, Rachel. But we are not without hospitality. Wake up your party and make sure they know the rules. Anyone raises a weapon with intent to do harm against one of my Pack and their life is forfeit."

"I understand." Rachel motioned for Miles to come with her. They needed to rouse the others.

Miles hadn't known what to expect, considering that without satellite imaging, aircraft or the ability to get anyone into this area without them vanishing they had never been able to determine what was out here, but the town they came to certainly had not been it.

The buildings were sturdy and made of stone with what looked like thatched roofs. They had founded the town next to a healthy stream that was strong enough to turn the wheel of an actual mill house which no doubt ground the flour that was being used to bake the bread at the large bakery with ovens outside under a canopy where they could be worked in the summer heat without too much trouble and would produce enough warmth during the winter to keep the bakers toasty while working in the cold. Behind the town so that they would be facing towards the south were stair-stepped growing fields. He'd seen remnants of such things during a trip to South America and his exploration of ancient cities.

There were couples and families, but interspersed amongst them were faces hardened by war and strife. The faces of the people who had the skills and the force of will to keep out the Militia, even though he saw no evidence of weapons among them save for one young man who carried what looked like a sword across his back.

"Rachel?"

"Welcome to Cúl Dín."

Aaron was looking around in what appeared to be awe. "It's like a ren faire, only with better construction and hygiene. What did you say the name was?"

Rachel smiled. "Cúl Dín. I'm told it is Irish for 'refuge'. Hal and his people pretty much run the place, though they let a friend of theirs name it because he helped with so much of the construction and fortifications. He's Irish, so he picked an Irish name."

"Wouldn't have made much of a difference. We were going to call it 'Helligdom'. Either way, the name would have stood out." A man had detached himself from one of the groups and made his way over to them. Miles had noticed him and got the same predatory sense off of him as he had from Hal. He watched at the man held out a hand to Rachel. "I'm Kyle."

"I remember." Rachel shook his hand firmly. "You our babysitter?"

"Until such time as you depart our company or Hal determines you can be trusted to be on your own. For now I'm supposed to take you over to Snorri so he can give your boy a once over."

"Mom." Danny's voice had the whine to it that young men get when they feel they're being fussed over. Miles tried not to smile when Charlie smacked him lightly on the back of his head. Give it a week and he'll probably catch her in a rant claiming she wished she'd let Monroe keep him and had just gotten on with her life. She wouldn't mean it, of course, but it was her right as a sister. "What was that for?"

"Don't be a brat and do what Mom says." She pushed him towards their mother. Miles saw that Kyle was also trying not to smile.

"This way, folks." His voice wasn't as… formal as Hal's. He also came across as… younger somehow. Miles couldn't say why, since he looked like he could be five to ten years older, but there was something about how he carried himself that spoke of youth when compared to his boss.

'Kyle' led them through the neatly laid out paths between buildings to a larger structure that looked like a house with another larger communal building attached to it. They didn't go through the front door, but a door for the larger section. "In ya go."

Rachel walked in as though there were nothing to fear. Miles could hardly believe how trusting she was. Couldn't she tell how dangerous these people were? Then Charlie went in before he could stop her. He caught Nora's gaze as Danny and Aaron followed the first two. "She really seems to trust these people."

"Yeah, she does."

"You said the Militia couldn't get in here?"

"Every scouting party vanished except for one."

"What happened to them?"

"Their heads were sent back with a note saying that if we stayed out of their way, they'd stay out of ours."

Nora's shoulders tensed, but she kept herself from reaching for a weapon. "Charming. What now?"

Miles met Kyle's gaze. The man was far enough away that he shouldn't be able to hear them, but something told Miles that he knew every word they had just exchanged. "Now we go in and see the doc."

The larger structure proved to be a clinic. The floors were bare boards and scrubbed clean. The entire place had a fresh scent that did its best to overpower the coppery scent of blood from recent use. A curious glance through neat shelves revealed carefully labeled preparations of various tinctures and tonics that were likely made from herbs and plants. A locked cabinet probably contained the rarer and potentially lethal items. Perhaps even some potentially addictive ones if the arrangement of dried poppy flowers was any indication. Opium in the hands of a drug lord could be lethal, but pre-Blackout some of the most reliable pain medications were derived from the same source.

"He'll be right back." Miles turned towards the voice and saw Rachel speaking with a lovely woman with a head of magnificient red curls, a radiant smile and a stomach swollen from pregnancy. "He ran up to the weaver's house to get fresh bandages." There was a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips that made Miles think that the weaver might possibly be female and have more than good quality cloth to recommend her. "I suspect he'll be back after she's plied him with some of her excellent cooking."

"We can wait. I'm Rachel."

"Granuaille. I'm pitching in around here while my husband behaves like an overprotective and borderline-psychotic father-to-be."

"Insisting on proper rest and medical care?"

"Yes, though I can't imagine why. This is my first baby, not his. He's been married before." She shook her head, her eyes rolling up as though beseeching some power on high for strength. "He's proving to be the pinnacle of silly."

"It's all out of love, I'm sure." Rachel introduced them all and Granuaille invited them to sit down while she made tea. She declined help when offered, seeming to be more than capable of handling things on her own. She moved with a strength and grace that seemed out of place on a woman whose balance should be knocked askew, carrying the weight of her unborn child without any apparent strain.

The tea was soothing and Miles drank it without hesitation after seeing their hostess do the same. She wouldn't poison herself, especially not with a baby on the way. Rachel was open with the fact that she'd been Monroe's prisoner for the past decade, though Miles noted she failed to disclose that he was the one who had demanded her surrender and she skirted around anything that might upset the kids. He got the feeling that Granuaille understood that last part and was purposefully avoiding asking any questions that might lead to tales of torture or abuse. The woman knew discretion. He also suspected she knew how to interrogate without violence.

They had been there for about an hour when the mysterious Dr. Snorri made an appearance, carrying a basket with carefully wound strips of cloth for bandages and what smelled like some rather excellent baked goods. "Sorry to have kept you. Rebecca so rarely gets visitors who will stay and talk with her. A shame, really. She's a charming woman. Granuaille, she made some bread with the last of the zuchinni before it could have a chance to spoil. She remembered how much you liked the last loaf she brought over."

"Bonus!" The red head got out of the chair with little trouble and accepted the gift. "And I think you know about your guests?"

"Yes. Hal was certain to let me know. It's good to see you again, Rachel."

After that, the visit was easy. Snorri examined Danny and it was the first time Miles saw hints of what he had endured. Most of the bruises had faded by now, but that he could still see them at all was a testament to how severe they had been to begin with. He felt his hands ball into fists and wished he had killed Neville when he'd had the chance. He tore his eyes away and saw Rachel. She was holding herself rigid, likely feeling the same things he was.

"Before the Blackout we'd have given you an inhaler. Sadly, that's not an option any longer. I've had to figure out a different way to deal with your particular health problem when it flares up." The man walked over to a work table bordered on two sides by shelves with bottles and packets of herbs and other ingredients. Practiced hands reached for and claimed various items and put them into a mortar to be ground until they were a fine powder, then ground again until they were even finer. The mixture was carefully poured into a pouch he secured from a lidded box tucked out of sight.

"What's that?"

"A concoction of various items experience has taught me will help along the same fashion as the old inhalers. Not as quick to act, but it will do the trick as long as you keep yourself from panicking so it can take hold. When you feel your airways start to close up on you, you open the pouch, put your mouth just inside it and hold the opening tight to make a seal, then in hale one to two times. Be sure to breath out through your nose. You'll want to avoid moisture getting into the pouch and clumping the mixture. The pouch is triple lined, one layer of cotton cloth, the next of linen and this outer layer you can see is oil skin. That will help protect the medicine from most mundane sources such as sweat from being kept close to your skin."

Snorri gave the pouch to Danny as he looked to Rachel. "If he gets to the point that he needs it more than three times a week, bring him back to me. He'll need more serious intervention."

"Maybe we should hang around for a while, just to be sure?"

Snorri gave her a gentle smile. "Rachel, if Danny here was able survive being taken prisoner and manhandled across who knows how many miles only to come face to face with Monroe himself and didn't have an attack serious enough to kill him, then he's a lot stronger than you think."

Rachel's mouth snapped shut with a click. Miles saw Charlie's lips turn into a smirk and more than a bit of pride in her kid brother. He turned away before he could join her. Yeah, Rachel's kids were more than she expected. A part of her still saw them as the little children she left behind; life had made them into a couple of young adults who had what it took to survive in this new world.

"Thank you, Snorri."

"My pleasure, Rachael." He looked at Danny but continued to address her. "You were right in bringing him here. They weren't gentle." He turned his gaze to Rachel and miles saw a gentle, almost sorrowful light to them. "Now, how about letting Kyle take them all towards the center house for something to eat and we'll see to your examination."

Rachael stiffened and something inside Miles winced. He had been avoiding thinking about that. While he had been with Bass no one would have dared to lay a hand on Rachel. When he had left, however, he had taken his protection with him. He had no way of knowing what she may have been subjected to during that time. He didn't want to dwell on it.

"Mom?" Charlie looked at Rachel curiously.

"I don't need an examination, Snorri. I'm fine."

"Rachel." It was a gentle scolding. "You aren't helping anyone by being stubborn. Send them down the way." Kyle came through the door as though summoned, his expression benign and polite.

Danny looked from Rachel to the doctor and finally to his sister. Charlie's face said she got it. "Charlie?"

"Let's go, Danny. I'm starving, and I'd like to eat something other than boiled tubers and overcooked hare." She reached for him and helped him off the table.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, Danny." Women banded together on such things. Charlie knew that without having to be initiated in any feminine secrets. She and Nora exchanged one of those women-looks, the kind that conveyed an entire conversation in under a second. It was one of the things about women that made Miles suspect that men had never really been in control of the world. Not during any era. The women just let them think that they were.

"Not to say anything bad about your cooking, Charlie, but I have to agree. C'mon, Danny. I haven't seen you since you were out of diapers. We've got catching up to do." He put an arm across the boy's shoulders so that he could gently steer him towards the door. They should let the doctor and Rachel have privacy for this.


	3. Chapter 3

Miles knew he was being watched. There were more eyes on him now than there had been before. Potentially hostile eyes that belonged to men and women who were keeping their distance. He suspected that they did so only on Hal's orders and he had to admire a man who commanded such respect. It was different from what he and Bass had used. Their men, the later recruits, followed them out of fear. It was mostly the inner circle, those first few they had brought to them, that had followed with unquestioning fanaticism.

There was one person that stood out, however. Miles couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the kid didn't have the same feral feel of Hal's folks. He looked maybe nineteen or twenty with skin and hair that proclaimed him a mix of possibly white and black races, blue eyes indicating likely more white than black. When he knew that Miles had seen him he smiled with a broad and friendly expression before walking over. Miles saw the sword hilt peeking up over his shoulder and recognized him as the only armed person he'd noted earlier.

Miles reached for another one of the stuffed meat pies that were apparently left over from an earlier meal and had been kept warm by a hearth for later comers. The meat had the slightly sweet taste of well-fed rabbit, with a little garlic, carrot and cabbage added in to round it out. The pastry was flaky and a testament to the quality of flour their millhouse was producing as well as confirming that they had relearned the skill of churning their own butter.

The young man sat down without waiting to be invited. "Saw the scouting crew bring you in earlier. You're moving under your own power, so I'm guessing it went well." He extended a hand. "I'm Gabe."

Miles finished the final bite of pastry, wiped his fingers off briefly on a cloth napkin he'd been provided and shook the hand. "Miles." He reached for another meat pie. Gabe reached for one as well. "You're not one of Hal's."

"How do you know?"

"Don't have the look of them. You're not as hard. Then there's the sword, none of his people are armed."

Gabe smiled. "You're right. I'm a guest here as well, though probably a bit more welcomed than you. Just got in a couple days ago and decided to hang around when I found out Granuaille was here. Thought I'd stay and watch the fort until Atticus gets back."

"Atticus?"

Gabe grinned. "Mr. Granuaille, though I wouldn't call him that to his face. Apparently he got asked to do a favor for someone and left the missus here with Snorri for safe keeping. Glad I missed that conversation."

Miles chased a mouthful of meat pie with what proved to be a rather good ale, not like the rat piss most places managed in this day without high tech brewing equipment. It was almost like the people here had been without reliable power before. "You think it got loud?"

"Atticus may be good with a sword, but Granuaille can lay your skull open with her staff before you have a chance to clear steel from your scabbard. She's not a weakling. Trust me, that kid is going to come out doing cartwheels and probably fully armed."

Miles couldn't keep the smile from his face. He had known some women like that. Hell, Rachael and Nora both fit that description. "How'd you fall in with them?"

Gabe shrugged. "They found me a couple years after the Blackout. Some thugs killed my parents and were taking me to sell me to some sick fuck who made his way by pimping out kids to pervs. Atticus and Granuaille killed the thugs, killed the pimp and a couple of customers too stupid to run and got the kids to some place run by nuns. I begged them not to leave me behind and they decided to keep me. Been running with them ever since. Been a good fifteen years now, though the past three I strike out on my own now and again to explore and to do odd jobs."

Miles frowned. "Granuaille can't be but a few years older than you. You expect me to believe she was able to take care of you when she couldn't have been more than ten herself?"

"Oh, she's a lot older than she looks. Old enough that it's wiser not to guess or ask."

Miles arched a brow. "Really? Just how do you explain that?"

Gabe grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "Magic."

That almost got a bark of laughter from Miles. He never saw the joke coming. "Magic."

"Yep. The mysteries of the universe are mine to explore."

"What are we talking about, Mr. Grace?" 'Kyle' had come up without a sound. Miles managed not to jump and tamped down his annoyance at being caught off guard. He watched as the older man clapped a hand on the kid's shoulder and sat down next to him.

"Magic."

"Dangerous subject." Kyle reached for the last meat pie. "Hal is going to be meeting with Miles and Rachel tonight with the rest of the Pack. He wants you and Granuaille to be there."

Gabe shrugged. "Sure. Any of the scouts hear from Atticus?"

"No, but it's not as though Mr. O'Sullivan needs to make himself known. He'll probably just show up in the middle of town like he always does. That big oak tree seems to work well for that. It's why we leave it there. I voted for cutting it down, but I was only one of three voices in that direction."

Gabe gave a snort of laughter. "You're never going to forgive him for Tempe, are you?"

"He told you about Tempe?"

"I asked him why you hate him so much."

Miles hated to be in the dark. "Arizona? You from out there?"

Kyle nodded. "I was a detective with the police department pre-Blackout. Mr. O'Sullivan was a pet project of mine."

"Detective Geffert here thought Atticus was an Irish sleeper agent or something."

Miles arched a brow. "A sleeper agent from Ireland. Like IRA?"

"There were a lot of violent and strange things happening around him."

"And now that you know the why and wherefore behind all those strange happenings?" Gabe gave him a look of polite inquiry. Kyle scowled.

"I still don't like him." The former police detective gave a single shoulder shrug. "But I respect him. We couldn't have built this town as well as we did without his help and he did make the transition from power to without power easier."

Miles frowned, looking at Kyle. "You look a little young to have been a police detective before the Blackout."

Kyle grinned. "I'm older than I look."

That sounded familiar. "How do you figure that?"

Gabe and Kyle both grinned and answered in unison. "Magic."

Hal's house wasn't in the center of town. It also wasn't the fanciest place to be found. Good move. It would be logical for an attacking or invading force to look for the biggest, grandest house as that of the leader and strike there to disrupt the target's chain of command. Unless you had intimate knowledge of this town and its inhabitants, you'd have no way of knowing where to find the person in charge.

The home, like all the others in the town, was sturdy and clean. Miles paused a moment to study the stone work of the walls and was again reminded of ancient cities in South America, where stonework was so solid that even thousands of years later you couldn't be able to fit a thin knife blade between them stones themselves. They looked to be almost fused together. The time and attention to detail to make an entire town of such buildings was staggering. How did they get so much accomplished in the time after the Blackout? He would expect it to take four to five decades to get anything near this much done.

"Keep moving." Kyle's voice was placid and unthreatening. Miles continued forward into the house and found himself in a large central den that felt of warmth and shelter. There was a wolfish kind of feel to it, probably because there were two wolves present, resting on colorful rugs near a hearth as though they were nothing more than pet canines.

Everything else was neat and orderly, if a bit dark in tone. There were several people present, most of them the hardened faces he has seen about town. Hal's people. What the fuck had Rachel gotten them into?

"Come on, come on. I'd like to get her off her feet, if you don't mind." It was the doctor, Snorri. Miles and Kyle both got out of the way as the man escorted Rachel and Granuaille into the room. One of Hal's people rose from his seat near the fire and offered it to the expectant mother without prompting. She gave him a warm and friendly smile and didn't fuss as a sturdy ottoman was produced and placed under her feet.

"I'll be so glad when he's out." She still didn't look overly strained from the pregnancy, but she did look massive. "Snorri, you'll be sure to tell Atticus how much of a beast and insensitive brute he's been, taking off like this in my hour of need?"

"Looking forward to it." Several of the people around the hearth chuckled as the doctor spoke. They were hard, but they were together. Miles could recognize the near familial bonds formed between people who had fought together for a long time.

And in spite of their hardened, clearly battle seasoned natures, Granuaille showed no discomfort with them. Neither did Gabe when the young man reappeared and immediately went to her side. Miles didn't doubt for a moment that they were aware of just what kind of people they were with. The lack of a militia presence alone would indicate that this 'town' could more than defend itself.

Miles knew Hal was about to show before he saw the man. He knew because somehow the people in the room changed in body language and posture a heartbeat before he arrived. Not even he and Bass had elicited that type of reaction from their men. Not even from the fanatics.

A prickle of fear started from the base of his head and danced down his spine. Something very wrong was going on here.

Hal looked around the room, and Miles threw out anything and everything he'd ever thought about women and their skills at non-verbal communication. Hal had somehow given an entire speech with that one look, and every one of his people got the message. Several of them looked over to Miles curiously, as though sizing him up if they needed to attack. Not good.

"Rachel, not that we aren't happy to extend help to those in need, but I do think it's time you gave us everything. All the things you didn't tell us the first time we came across you and your family."

Charlie gave a little jump. "That's it! I knew I'd seen some of you before!"

"Yes, Charlie. We ran into The Pack before. When we were trying to find a place outside of the cities. Our supplies were low and we were attacked by a gang." Rachel swallowed. "Hal and some of his people were in the area tracking the same gang. They had harmed someone under their protection."

Charlie looked through the faces until she saw a woman. "You gave me sweater. I was cold and you gave it to me. It was green. I wore it until I got so big my I couldn't get my arms into it any longer."

The woman smiled. It didn't seem to be a natural expression for her, but she gave it a good try. "You were cute and vicious." She glanced around the rest of the room and shrugged. "She was! She couldn't have been more than six or seven and was trying to face down one of those assholes with part of a tree branch so big she could barely hold it. It was precious."

"You stayed with us for a time," Hal interjected, "and we knew your parents were holding something back then. We need to know it all now, Rachel. If you want our protection and aid, we need to know what is going on."

Rachel sighed. Miles tensed. He knew there were secrets. Rachel had held them behind her teeth no matter what threats or coercions they had tried.

"Rachel, you need to tell them." She looked at him, her expression turning hard and mulish. "Rachel, Ben called me to warn me of the Blackout before it happened. What do you know?"

Everyone in the room tensed. Rachel held out for a moment longer before giving in. He could tell the second she did. Her body went somewhat slack, her shoulders slumping.

"We… we were trying to develop a new source of green energy. An answer to the world's power concerns. Only, what we came up with did the exact opposite of what we intended."

She took a breath, straightened her spine and stepped to the center of the room. She faced Hal. "It frightened us, what we made. It dampened and smothered power, and it wasn't hard to see that it could be misused if it fell into the wrong hands. But we were running out of money and our work caught the attention of the State Department."

"You sold it to the government?" Hal's voice had taken a harsh, angry edge to it.

"Not at first. I won't lie to you, we were broke. Ben and I had Charlie and Danny was on the way, but we weren't willing to sell out unless we could work the deal in such a way as to try and protect people. Only… something went wrong."

Rachel glanced over to her children. "There were complications with the pregnancy. Danny had a birth defect that all but guaranteed he wouldn't survive birth. There was a new endoscopic surgical procedure but I was turned down for the trial. The government agent trying to recruit us found out about it. He… he sweetened the deal. He made sure I'd get the surgery, that Danny would have a chance to live, if I agreed to sign off on the deal. I was the only hold out, and he found my weakness."

There was a barely perceptible shifting in the people in the room. Miles again got the feeling that they were speaking without words, and everyone was in on the conversation except for his little group and perhaps Granuaille and Gabe. Hal folded his arms as he continued to look at Rachel. He seemed to be watching her for any sign of falsehood.

"I wasn't involved much with the onsight work after Danny was born. The surgery worked, but he still had problems pulmonary problems. The defect was that he originally had been missing one of the primary veins between heart and lung, so his breathing has always been somewhat compromised. I wanted to be with my kids." She swallowed. "But Ben kept me apprised of what was going on. We knew they were trying to weaponize our device."

"Did your husband do anything to try and stop it?"

"There wasn't much that could be done. The group we worked with, all friends of ours from before the deal, we developed amulets that would counter the dampening. Twelve of them in all. Ben and I got one, the others were divided up between the different team members. We told no one about them."

"Do the amulets work?"

"They work." Miles jumped in, figuring Rachel needed a breather. "When Monroe's men came looking for Ben he entrusted his amulet with Aaron. I didn't know what the damn thing was until I saw it turn on a light house. I wanted to destroy it, but the one chance I got I couldn't make a dent in the damn thing."

Hal frowned. "You tried to destroy it?"

"It's what Monroe was after. He's been gathering up gear from before the Blackout. Helicoptors for sure, maybe even some tanks or heavy equipment vehicles. That amulet would change everything." Miles bit back a curse. "It has changed everything. We were running from one of the damn things when we made our escape from Philly."

"So they got one of them in the air."

Rachel nodded. "But only through the use of an amplifier. They only have one amulet and one amplifier can boost the range for up to ten miles. Anything they want to keep powered has to stay within that ten mile area."

"Most likely they'll keep it on a central unit, either a chopper in the air or in a heavy armor truck. A central command vehicle of some kind." Miles drifted off as he noted another change in body language around the room. Heads turned towards the door. A second later a young man with a head of flaming red curls and one of those goatees that prissy college kids used to sport pre-blackout stepped out of the shadows.

"Well, this certainly makes things more interesting. If Monroe still has anything resembling sanity in his brain pan, he'll have pulled back whatever he had coming after you and make plans to strike out at the St. Louis militia queuing up at his border." The man grinned. "Seems that Monroe's problems with the 'rebels' has gotten out and the other warlords smell blood in the water. Won't they be surprised."

"Atticus." Hal extended a hand that the young man took and shook firmly. They exchanged nods, but Hal stepped aside to clear the way between the newcomer and the smiling Granuaille. From the soft whispers and kiss it was clear that they were a couple. This must be 'Mr. Granuaille'.

"Sorry to crash the meeting, Hal. Just got in."

"Laksha?"

"Unpacking her things in the house we set up for her. She says 'thank you', but I suspect she'll deliver her gratitude in person tomorrow."

"Her tree?"

"Harvested what apples we could carry, gave the rest to the Earth. No way the militia will get their hands on it or even know what it was." Atticus flashed a smile at the doctor. "I dropped a couple dozen apples at your place, Snorri. Thought you might like to see what you can make of them."

"Thank you. If they work the way you said, they could help us with some of the more desperate cases."

"Keep it quiet, though. Certain parties wouldn't be happy about you having them, and we'd rather those same parties not find out that Laksha can and has successfully cultivated a tree here."

"Understood."

Hal caught Atticus' attention. "If Monroe has tanks and helicopters, the other militia won't stand a chance."

"Fear will be his biggest weapon. Doesn't matter how many of the other side remember helicopters, they will recognize that Monroe has them and they don't. They'll panic, which will buy him time considering ordnance for the guns will be at a premium." The new comer looked over at Miles. "The central command vehicle for this… amplifier? You're likely spot on with that. That would be the best way to do it, and that central vehicle will be heavily guarded."

"Disable the rest of his toys before he can get them off the ground?" Hal's voice was contemplative, a man in the midst of planning. "The gears and mechanics of pre-Blackout choppers, they would still have been from steel and iron, right?"

"Not as reliably as older models, but enough so that Gabe can throw a real wrench into things."

"Gabe?" Hal sounded less than convinced. Miles saw the young man in question straighten at the sound of his name. "Are you sure he's up for this?"

"Of course! Gabe knows what he's doing, and he's gotten good and sneaking about. His camoflague is still a little shaky in full daylight, but you're not going to make a run like this during the day. This is the type of thing you do at twilight or full dark. You get him close enough and cause enough of a distraction, and he can wreak some real havoc on Monroe's arsenal. He'll have moved it by now, though. Like I said, St. Louis is making a move. He's got to respond."

Hal looked back at Miles. "Well, Matheson, no one in this room knows Monroe as well as you. If you truly are remorseful about your past, help us with what you've got."

Yes, he knew Bass better than anyone else. "He's right. The rebels have been giving them enough trouble that, if it got out, the other Militia leaders will see it as potential weakness. St. Louis was always more aggressive, so it stands that they'd be the first up to bat. With the amplifier and the amulet, Monroe can move a mechanical force into place, but since they'll move faster than horses, wagons and men on foot, he'll have the luxury of holding back a bit. He'll have the ability to outrun any scouts they send his way."

"You're thinking he'll wait and make his big attack after St. Louis is too far committed to pull back. When he can get the highest death count."

Miles nodded. "It's what I'd do, and I taught him most everything he knows."

Atticus nodded, expression thoughtful. "Sound tactical thinking." No accusations or recriminations about what such thinking said about his character. O'Sullivan appeared to be viewing this from the eyes of a field commander. Just how old were these people? How could faces so young act as though they had the wisdom of the ages on their shoulders?

"How far out is St. Louis?"

"A good week's march yet, if they want the men in anything resembling fighting shape when they get here."

Miles frowned. "Then you've got another option. There's a full moon in three days. If Monroe really wanted to scare them, he could do a night run. The lights and sound alone would send the enemy soldiers into chaos."

There was a contented sound that came from Hal and was echoed by the rest of his people. "The full moon works well for us. Helps continue some of the legends if anyone puts two and two together. Plenty of light from the moon for Gabe to see by."

"Then I'm in?" The young man was trying not to look too eager, but it was obvious to anyone with some years under their belt that he was.

"If Atticus says you can do it, then I believe him." The kid poorly concealed a 'yes' with a matching fist pump. "But you'll be taking your orders through Kyle until it's time for you to do your thing. You understand?"

"Yes, Sir." His smile was a bright white streak across his richly colored skin. Granuaille patted his side in an affectionate manner, her own expression one of amusement at his clear excitement.

Miles exchanged a look with Nora. She was as confused as he. "I'm not sure I understand. What is this kid supposed to be able to do and why does the full moon help? What's the plan here?"

"You are concerned?"

"Yes, I'm concerned. Look, I'm as much at fault for Monroe as anyone else. If what we've heard can be believed, he fell off the rails after I left. Maybe if I'd stayed I might have been able to reign him back in eventually."

"Or he could have gone bat shit crazy, considered you a threat and slit your throat in your sleep." Atticus delivered the line without batting an eye. "Too late to dwell on that. We have a megalomaniac with helicopters in a world without power. It's like unleashing the Calvary with their firearms on the American Indians armed with nothing but bows and tomahawks. Guaranteed bloodbath unless some brave and societal minded individuals step up to do something about it." That earned snorts of amusement and chuckles. "All right, how about a group of individuals uninclined to be pushed around by a toddler with a hand grenade? Does that work for everyone?"

Miles shook his head in disbelief at the unabashed cockiness of these people. Sure, they had been good at keeping the militia out, but they showed no sign of an arsenal of any kind. The only people who had weapons he could see were not part of the central group. And yet his was this red-headed kid acting all the world like going to war with a superior force was an every day happenstance for him.

"Hal, he looks confused."

"He does. Rachel?"

"I didn't tell them, Hal. It wasn't my secret to share, and he wouldn't have believed me even if I had tried."

Miles frowned. "Believed what?"

Hal gave him a lop sided smirk and indicated the two wolves with a jerk of his head. Miles looked towards them… and they changed.


End file.
